Upon reviewing sales and prices realized for the Orlando FUN show, the market still seems strong in many areas, and soft in others. Many truly rare coins were selling for huge premiums, but most common-date coins seemed to not fare as well.

The collectibles market has a lot of potential compared to other markets. Sotheby’s recently auctioned off some high-end paintings and I was blown away by some of the prices they realized. A Kazmir Melavich painting sold for $60,002,500.00! So remember, the collectibles market, including rare coins, still has room for growth.

This week, we bring you the latest news on new coins being offered by the U.S. Mint. Mike Sargent returns with another excellent article on counterfeiting. In our video, David Hall discusses Bust half dollars with Don Willis. As a reminder, PCGS exhibits at the Long Beach Expo this week. And we want to make sure you are aware of our February promotion – the Genuine Crossover Special.

Be sure to check back to see if you won our special coin, and please don’t hesitate to e-mail to give us feedback on the eCollector.

Offer good while supplies last, and may be altered or cancelled by PCGS at any time.

The Latest News on Newly Minted U.S. CoinsBy Jaime Hernandez

The U.S. Mint has recently introduced a number of new coins that have collectors buzzing. In this article, we will give you the latest news on several of their most popular offerings.

U.S. Mint Restructures Gold and Platinum Coin Offerings

The United States Mint has restructured pricing for all Gold and Platinum Eagle coins. The Mint’s new pricing structure is based on the average spot prices of gold and platinum. For gold coins, the new pricing is set at $50 increments, while the platinum pricing is set in $100 increments, both depending on the spot prices of the two metals.

Because of the volatility of these two metals, the U.S. Mint has had an extremely difficult time in pricing gold and platinum coins. According to the U.S. Mint’s Deputy Director Andy Brunhart, "Transparency, agility, and customer service are the catalysts for our new pricing method. The volatile precious metals market prompted our customers to suggest that we revamp our process, and we listened." According to the Mint, this new pricing structure will be in effect for the remainder of 2009.

2009 Ultra High Relief Trading at a High Premium

It’s January 22nd 12:00 p.m. Eastern time. Tens of thousands of collectors are trying to log on to the U.S. Mint’s website to try and order the 2009 Ultra High Relief coins. Others are calling over the phone to try to get their orders in. Many collectors reported having an extremely difficult time trying to order the new coins.

Overall, the restrictive ordering limit of one coin per household created a lot of excitement, both good and bad, for collectors and many dealers. On Certified Coin Exchange dealers were offering $50 over the Mint issue price for each coin just days before the coins went on sale. After several dealers showed interest in these coins, the bidding increased to a couple hundred dollars for dealer-to-dealer transactions. One dealer indicated, “I am paying a premium for the coins as long as dealers on the network provide me a U.S. Mint confirmation number for the order".
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Mike Sargent is the Head Verifier at PCGS and is a leading expert on counterfeit detection. "Sarge" maintains a comprehensive database of known counterfeits and unfortunately is frequently adding new ones.

Counterfeiters employ various techniques and methods to create counterfeits, deceptive fakes and altered coins. These methods include the following:

Added and embossed mintmarks

Cast

Die struck

Electrotypes

Spark erosion

Plated

Altered dates and varieties

The counterfeiter seeking to produce the largest quantity of good quality, counterfeit coins would certainly choose to strike them using dies.
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